Saatchi's Chosen Few

As a footnote to my post yesterday on the opening of the new Saatchi Gallery, here's Zhang Xiaogang's Bloodline: Big Family No1, which, according to BBC News, topped a recent Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong by selling for HK$23.06m (£1.7m). Yes, you guessed it: there's a very similar Zhang Xiaogang painting on show at the Saatchi Gallery. It seems as though Saatchi's interest in Chinese art is jacking up the prices for his chosen few, just as it did in the UK. Generally the auction was a bummer with 19 of the 47 lots left unsold, while others barely hit low estimates (title link). Nice to know that some fat cats are feeling the credit crunch too!